Controlling mechanism for motor-vehicles.



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PATENTED OCT. 25,1904.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1902.

7 (lawmakers J. W. PACKARD & W.'A.'HATGHER.

' M No. 773,097."

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

N0 M ODEL.

No. 773,097. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

J. W. PACKARD & W. A. HATGHER.

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAKE, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MM L V r V PATENTED 001". 25, 1904. J. W. PACKARD & w. A. HATGHER.CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.5.1902.

N0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

- fhzzgm mm No. 773,097. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904. J. W. PACKARD & W. A.HATGHER. CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

' APPLIOATION nun 11mm. 1902.

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. iazmkozs QXhhwooeo 67% v 1 35% %%%AVM 1 PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904; J. W.PACKARD & w. A. HATCH-ER. CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

AYPLIUAIION FILED MAR; 5. 1902.

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NO MODEL.

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PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. PACKARD AND WILIJIAMJ A. HATOHER, OF WARREN, OHIO,'

ASSIGNORS TO OHIO AUTOMOBILE COMPANY, OF I/VARREN, OHIO, A CORPORATIONOF WEST VIRGINIA.

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming artof Letters Patent No. 773,097, dated October25, 1904. Application filed March 5, 1902. Serial No. 96,829- (N model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES W. PAoKARD and WILLIAM A. HATCHER, citizensof the United States, residing at Warren, in the county of I Trumbulland State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in(iontrolling Mechanism for Motor -Vehicles, of which the following isaspecification.

The present invention-comprises improve- I ments in devices forcontrolling-the speed and direction of motor-vehicles; and it includes anovel arrangement of gears and gear-shifting devices whereby theseveralcombinations of gearing to produce the desired results may be 5 effectedby the operation of a single lever, improvements in devices forclutching the driving-gear shaft to the power and for applying andreleasing the brake, and other minor features of construction.

a motor-vehicle frame equipped with the improvements. Fig. '2 is avertical section through the gearing and clutch. Fig. 3 is a 5 planview, partly in section, of the gearing and gear-case, the cover of thecase being removed. Fig. 4 is a side View of the gearoase, the housingsurrounding the brake-wheel being in section, on the line A A of. Fig.2.

3 Fig. 5 is a detail View showing the construction of one of thegear-shifting devices. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the connection ofthe band-brake to the brake-lever. Figs. 7 and 8 are plan and sideviews, respectively, of the guide-box for the controlling-lever; andFig. 9 is a side view of one-half of the guide-box on the line B B ofFig. 7

Referring to the drawings, a indicates anautomobile-frame on which issuitably sup- 4 ported an explosive or other type of engine 1,which'operates a driving-shaft 2, having thereon a fly-wheel 3.The-power to drive the vehicle is transmitted from the engine-shaft 2 todifferential gearing 4, arranged upon the driving-axles of the vehicle,through the medium v of a clutch b, sprocket-wheels 5 and 6, chain 7,and intermediate gearing arranged between of the vehicle-frame.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the lnvention, Figure 11s a plan view of of lugs 9, which rest upon and arebolted to I-beams 10and 11, whichlatter form parts Mounted in suitable bearings 12 and 13 inthe upper part of the casing is a driving-gear shaft 14, arranged inline with the engine-shaft 2, and this drivinggear shaft carries one ofthe members of the clutch b, the other member being carried by theengine or other power shaft 2. As shown, one member of the clutchcomprises a disk-like holder 15, mounted upon the hub 16 ofthe flywheeland held against rotation thereon by one or more arms 17, which areengaged by lateral projections 18 upon the wheel, said holder having anoutwardly-projecting peripheral flange 19, within which is arranged afriction-disk 20, connected to the spider 15 by asuitable number of keys21, which are rigidly secured to the holder and engage slots 22 in theperiphery of the friction-disk. The friction-disk is thus rotatable withthe holding-disk and capable of slight lateral movement. A The bottom ofeach slot is rounding in form, as shown, in order to permit a slightlateral play between the friction-disk and the spider, which isnecessary to accommodate slight changes in the ahnement of the power anddriving gear shafts when the machine is in operation. The

friction-disk 20 is arranged between a pair of clamping-disks 23 and24:, forming parts of the other clutch member, which disks are rotatablysecured to the driving-gear shaft 14:. As shown, the disk 24 is providedwith a long hub 25, which extends through a central opening in thefriction-disk, and this hub is rigidly secured to the driving-gear shaftby a key fitting within a keyway 26. The clamping-disk 23 is keyed uponthe hub 25 and is movable longitudinally thereon. Secured to the outerend of the hub 25 by a key and threaded joint is a ring or spider 28,having thereon arms 29, on which are pivotally mounted short levers 30,having rollers 31 at their outer ends and having their faces 32, whichbear against the disk 23, beveled, as shown. A collar 33, fittingloosely on the driving-gear shaft and movable lengthwise thereof, isadapted when moved to the right in Fig. 2 to bear radially outward uponthe rollers 31, thereby forcing the opposite ends of the levers 30against the clamping-disk 23. This pressure of the levers against saiddisk 23 forces the latter against the friction-disk 20, which in turn isforced against the clamping-disk 24. The two clamping-disks 23 and 24are therefore caused to frictionally engage the opposite sides of thedisk 20 by the movement of the collar 33 to the right. The periphery ofthe collar 33 is curved transversely, as shown, so that after passingbeyond the centers of the rollers in its movement to the right thecollar will be locked in place by the rollers. Spring-pressed rings 34are arranged in the opposing faces of the clamping-disks and tend tohold the latter out of engagement with the frictiondisk when the clutchis thrown out of action. The clutch is moved into and out of engagementby means of a bell-crank clutch-lever 35, having forked arms 36, whichengage studs 37, carried by a collar 38 within a recess upon the collar33. This bell-crank lever is connected by a link 39 to a hand-lever 40,arranged conveniently to the operator. By moving thehand-lever in onedirection the clutch members are engaged, and by moving said lever inthe opposite direction the clutch members are disengaged. This movementof the link 39 to engage and disengage the clutch members is alsoavailed of to release and apply a band-brake 41, which encircles abrakewheel 42, the latter being keyed to a driven or counter shaft 43,which extends through the casing parallel with the driving-gear shaftand carries at one end the brake-wheel and at the opposite end thesprocket wheel 6. One end of the brake-band is provided with an eye 44,which is keyed upona rock-shaft 45, journaled in one side of the casingand operated by a brake-arm 46, which is also keyed to said rock-shaftand pivotally connected with the link 39. The opposite end of thebrake-band is secured to a threaded stud 47, which extends through anopening 48 in a lug 49, which lug is also keyed to the rock-shaft. Thestud is adjustably secured to the lug by means of lock-nuts 50. Theopening 48, as shown in section, Fig. 6, and also in dotted lines inFig. 4, is enlarged or countersunk at each end to permit the lugs torock without disturbing the alinement of the pin. \Vhen the link 39 ispulled from its rearmost to its foremost-position, the clutch will bereleased and the brake will be applied and the reverse extreme movementof the link will release the brake and engage the clutch members. in themid-position of the link neither the clutch nor the brake will beengaged.

Three gears 51, 52, and of successively greater diameters are arrangedto slide on and turn with the driving-gear shaft 14, and three gears 54,55, and 56, respectively, having successively smaller diameters, arerigidly scoured to the counter-shaft 43. The smallest gear, 51, upon thedriving-gear shaft is movable into and out of engagement with the gear54 upon the counter-shaft by means of a shifting-arm 57, having a curvedend 53, which fits within an annular recess in a long collar 59. Thegears 52 and 53 are rigidly connected together and are movablelengthwise of the shaft by a shifting-arm 60, having a curved end 61,which fits within an annular recess formed between the gears. The gears55 and 56 upon the shaft43 are separated from one another by a distancegreater than the width of the two connected gears 52 and 53. When saidconnected gears are moved to the extreme left, as shown in Fig. 2. thegear 53 engages the gear 56. \V hen moved to the extreme right, the gear52 engages the gear 55, as shown in Fig. 3. In the mid-position of thegears 52 and neither will engage the gears upon the counter-shaft, andit is impossible for both of said gears to be in engagement with theircooperating gears upon the counter-shaft at the same time. The elongatedcollar 59, connected with the gear 51, forms a stop for the gears 52 and53 when moved to the right in Fig. 2. As will be readily seen, thearrangement is such that three different speeds may be given to thecounter-shaft 43 and driving-sprocket 6 by the engagement of the gearsupon the clutch-shaft with their cooperating gears upon thecounter-shaft.

The shifting-arm 57, which moves the gear 51 into and out of engagementwith its coo crating gear 54, is operated by means of a bell-crank lever62 and a link 63, and the shifting-arm is operated by similar lever 64and link 65, the movement of said links being controlled by a hand-lever66, pivotally arranged within a controlling device and adapted to engagewith either of said links, as will be hereinafterdescribed. Each of thearms 57 and 60 is arranged to slide upon a guide-rod 68, which islocated within the easing parallel with the clutch-shaft, and the connections between the shifting arms and their respective levers are thesame in each case. As shown in Fig. 5, the guiderod 68 extends through asleeve 69 upon the outer end of the arm 60, and a guide-pin 70 fits intoa threaded opening in the upper side of the sleeve. This guide-pin 70has a rectangular portion 71, which extends through a guide-slot 72 inthe top of the casing, and upon the upper end of the pin above thesquared portion is journaled a w is s? rectangular block 7 3,'which, asshown, is heldin place bya washer 7 1. The leverv 64 is provided with afork end 75, which. engagesthe sides of the block 73. The lever 62 isalso provided with a fork end 76, which engages a block upon asimilarly-arranged stud 7 7, secured to a shaft 78 are sleeve upon theshifting arm 57. The squared portions of the studs or guide-pinsengaging the walls of the guide-slots prevent the pins from turning andworking out of the sleeves, and the forks upon thelevers permit thestuds to move in a straight line without binding against the levers,which swing about their pivotal points. A longitudinally-movable shaft78 extends into the'gear-casing parallel with the driving and countershafts, and fixed to said two reversing-gears 79 and 80, which areadapted to mesh' with the gears 51.

and 5 1, respectively, when the shaft 7 8 is moved inwardly and tobecomedisengaged from, said gears when said shaft is moved outwardly into theposition shown in Fig. 3. This engagement of the gears, it will be seen,causes the counter-shaft 4L3-to turn in the reverse direction. Thelongitudinal movement of the reversing-shaft 78 is accomplished throughthe medium of alink 81, connected. to onevarm of a bell-crank lever 82,and a rod 83, connected to the other arm of the lever and to the shaft78. r

The forward ends of the links 63, 65, and 81 extend into the guide-boxor switching device c, which is secured to the frame of the vehicle. Thedevice 0 comprises a casing made in two parts 84 and 8 1, suitablybolted together and having in its top wall or plate 85 thereof twoparallel slots which are connected together at the center by atransverse opening 86in the center of the partition 87, thus formingfour notches88, 89, 90, and 91. The partition is beveled at either sideof, the opening 86, as indicated by the numerals 92 and 93. Thecontrolling-lever66 is mounted upon a pivot bolt or shaft 9 1,extendingtrans- VGIS6l V through the lower part of the casing beneaththe opening in the partition, and the opening 95 in the lever,throughwhich the pivot bolt extends, is enlarged in order to permit the leverto rock laterally and be movable through the opening in the partitionand into any one of the notches in the guide-plate. ,The lever has avertically-elongated eye 96 (shown in dotted lines) extendingtransversely through it below the guide-plate, and the links 63, 65, and81 are provided with inwardly-projecting pins 97, 98, and 99,respectively, adapted to be engaged by said'eye. The link 63, as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 7 and in full lines in Fig. 9, has aninwardlyturned end 100, extending around the end. of the link 81, and inthe normal positions of the parts the pins 97 and 99 upon said ends areat substantially equal distances from the center of the opening in thepartition, and the links 63 and 81 are movable by the lever in oppositedirections from the normal posi+ tions. The bevel or cam surfaces-92 and93' guide the operating-leverso that the eye may engage the pins uponthe links. The pin 98 upon the link in its normal position is centrallylocated, as shown, and is movable by the lever in bothdirections fromthe center.

The link 65 isprovided on its lower side with three teeth 101, 102, and103, as shown in dotted -lines in Fig. 8, and a spring-pawl 104, alsoshown in dotted lines, is adapted to engage these teeth in the centraland extreme backward and forward positions of the link; Similarly, thelink 81 is provided with two teeth105. and 106, which are engaged by aspring-pawl 107 iIr-the two positions to which the link is movable, andthe link 63 is also provided with twoteeth and a cooperating pawl. Acam-shaft 108; extending transversely through the casing beneath thepawls, is provided with a cam-surface 109,. adapted to engage each ofthe pawls and lock the latter in engagement with the teeth upon thelinks. extends upwardly between two projections 111 upon the link 39,which operates the clutch, the arrangement being such that when theclutch is released the pawls will be unlocked andwhen the clutch isengaged the pawls will be locked.

In operation when it is desired to'change the speed of the vehicle or toreverse its motion the clutch is first released by throwing theclutch-lever 10 to its mid-position, and the' gears are then shifted bymoving the links with the operating-lever, after which theclutch-leveris movedbackward, throwing the clutch into engagement. Whenthe operating-lever 66 is moved into the notch89, the

eye in the lever engages the pin97 upon the link 63 and the latter ismoved forward, there-- by throwing the smallest gear 5l upon thedriving-gear shaft into engagement with the largest gear 54 upon thecounter-shaft, which counter-shaft is thereby given its slowest speed.The Withdrawal of the controllinglever from the notch 89 to itsmid-position throws the gear 51 out of engagement with the gear 5 1 andinto. the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The movement of thecontrolling-lever into the notch moves the link 65 rearwardly, therebythrowing the inter: mediate gear 52 into engagement with its cooperatinggear 55 and giving an intermediate speed to the counter-shaft. Themovement of the lever into the notch 91 draws thelink 65 forward,thereby moving the gear 53 into engagement with the gear 56 and givingto the' counter-shaft its highestspeed. When the controlling-lever isin. the mid-position, the gears52 and 53 are in the mid-position betweenthe gears 55 and,5.6-.

sired to reverse the vehicle, thelever is moved into the notch 88,thereby causing the rearward movement of the link 81 and the engage- Alever 110 upon this cam-shaft ex- When it is dement of thereversing-gears 79 and 80 with the gears 51 and 54:, respectively. Asthe controlling-lever and the link with which it is at any timeconnected must be brought to the central position before a change ingearing can be effected, it is impossible to manipulate thecontrolling-lever so as to throw more than one pair of gears intoengagement at a time. No change in the gearing can be accomplishedexcept while the clutch is released, owing to the locking of the pawlsby the cam which is controlled by the movement of the clutch-lever, andthe several links are locked against accidental movement at all timeswhile the gearing is connected to the power-shaft. By connecting gears52 and 53 so that they may be operated by a single shifting arm andseparating the gears 55 and 56 by a distance greater than the width ofsaid connected gears the single link suffices to effect two changes inspeed.

For convenience in starting the explosivemotor shown in the drawings ahand-crank 112 is detachably connected to the outer end of thedriving-gear shaft. This is conveniently accomplished by providing ashank upon the end of the crank-shaft, which shank enters a socket inthe end of the clutch-shaft, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. A pin113 upon said shank engaging anotch in the wall of the socket enablesthe operator to turn the driving-gear shaft and power-shaft in theproper direction to start the motor. When the motor is selfacting, thecrank-shaftis forced out of engagement with the driving-gear shaftby aninclined wall of the notch, which bears outwardly on the pin 113. Thecrank-shaft is formed with a groove 114E, intowhich a spring-pin 115 inthe crank-bearing 116 extends. This pin holds the crank in its normalposition out of engagement with the driving-gear shaft while permittingthe crank-shaft to be moved into engagement with the shaft or withdrawnfrom its bearing at will.

Suitable passage-ways are provided for oiling each of the bearings andthe spring-pressed rings 34, and the gears within the casing arelubricated by oil which is maintained at a suitable height in the lowerpart of the casing.

Having described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

1. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a series of change-gears,means for shifting said gears relatively, and a clutch for operatingsaid gears, of a locking device operable independently of thegear-shifting means for preventing the shifting of the gears while theclutch is operative.

2. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a series of change-gears anda clutch for operating the same, of a locking device for preventing theshifting of the gears while the clutch is operative, and means forunlocking the gears simultaneously with the opening movement of theclutch.

3. In amotor-vehicle, the combination with a series of gears, and meansfor throwing them into and out of mesh to efl'ect different speeds, ofmeans for locking the gears in any one of their operative positions. aclutch, and means for unlocking said gears, said latter means beingoperable only when the clutch is opened.

4. In amotor-vehicle, the combination with two series of gears, andmeans for sliding one series relatively to the other, of means forlocking the sliding gears in their several operative positions, a clutchfor transmitting power to said gears, a lever for operating the clutch,and connections between said lever and the locking devices for thegears, whereby said locking devices are automatically unlocked when theclutch is opened.

5. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a clutch, a series of gearsoperated by said clutch, a second series of gears, a lever for throwingthe gears of the lirst series into and out of mesh with the gears of thesecond series, a hand-lever and connections for operating saidgear-shifting lever, a second lever for operating the clutch, and alocking device for the gear-shifting mechanism automatically controlledby the clutch-operating mechanism.

6. Inamotor-vehicle, the combination with a series of change-gears andmeans for shifting said gears relatively, of means operableindependently of the gear-shifting means for locking said gears againstsuch movement.

7 In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a plurality of gears, andmeans for shifting one or more of said gears relatively to the others,of a clutch for connecting said gears with a driving-shaft, and meansoperable ind ependently of the gear-shifting means for locking saidgears against such shifting movement when the clutch is operative.

8. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a series of gears, means forshifting one or more of said gears to eflectdifi'erent speeds, a clutchfor connecting said gears with power mechanism, and means operableimlependently of the gear-shifting means for locking said gears againstsuch shifting movement when the clutch is operative, the last said meansbeing operated to unlock the gears when the clutch is opened.

9. Inamotor-vehicle, the combination with a plurality of gears, a clutchfor connecting said gears with a power mechanism, and means for shiftingone or more of said gears relatively to the others to eliectdili'erentspeeds, of means for locking the gears against movement when the clutchis operative, and a lever independent of the gear-shifting means forreleasing said locking means.

10. In a controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination with adriving-shaft and a' counter-shaft, cooperating gears thereon, andmechanism for shifting the gears to effect changes in speed, of apower-shaft, a

clutch for connecting the driving-shaft to the power-shaft, devicesforengagmg and disengaglng the clutch members, and means operated bysaid devices for locking the'gear-shifting mechanism while the clutch isengaged,

and for unlocking said mechanism when the clutch is disengaged. I

. 11. In a controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination Withthe gear-shafts and cooperating gears thereon, of means for shiftingsaid cooperating gears into and out' of engagement with one another,comprising hnks, an operating-lever adapted to move said links, pawlsarranged to engage said links in their several positions 7 ofadjustment, and means for locking said pawls in engagement with thelinks.

12. In a controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination with apower-shaft,

gear-shafts, cooperating gears thereon, a

clutch for connecting the power-shaft to one of the gear-shafts, devicesfor operating said clutch, and mechanism for shifting said cooperatinggears into and out of engagement with one another comprising linksand anoperating-lever adapted to move said links, of means controlled by theclutch-operating devices for locking said links against movement whilethe clutch is engaged and for unlocking said links when the'clutch isdisengaged.

13. In a controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination with apower-shaft, gear 'shafts, cooperatlng gears thereon, a

clutch for connecting the power-shaft and one gears thereon, the gearsupon one shaft being movable into and out of engagement with the of saidlatter slot.

cooperating gears upon the other shaft, of mechanism for shiftingrthegears to efiect three different speeds comprising twolongitudinally-movable links and a lever adapted to engage one of saidlinks and move it in'two directions from its normal position and toengage and moveseparately the other link in one direction from thenormal position. v

. 15. In a controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination witha'driving-gear shaft, and a counter-shaft, three sets of coopcratinggears thereon, the gears upon one of said shafts being movable into andout of engagement with the gears upon the other shaft to effect threechanges in speed, and revers ing-gears movable into and out ofengagement with gears upon said shafts, of a link movable in onedirection only from the normal for engaging the reversing-gears,a'second link movable in the opposite direction only for engaging onepair of. speed changing .gears, and a third link movable in twodirections from the normal to effect two changes in speed, and. a leveradapted to engage and move each of'said links separately.

16. Ina controlling mechanism for motorvehicles, the combination" Withchangeable speedgearing and reversing-gearing, of a guide box or platehaving two parallel slots therein and a central opening in the partitionbetween said slots forming four notches, a controlling-lever movablethrough sa d opening into the notches, two links movable in oppositedirections and arranged to operate the reversinggearing and theslow-speed gearing respectively, each of .saidlinks having a partadjacent to one of the slots adapted to be engaged by the lever, and alink arranged to engage the intermediate and high speed gearing having apart adjacent to the other slot and adapted to be engaged by the leverwhen either of thenotches e the latter is moved into In testimonywhereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES W. PACKARD. WILLIAM A. HATCHER.

Witnesses:

V E. L. WARNER,

O. H. DUN AP.

